


A Change in Schedule

by IvyCpher



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Autistic Anxiety | Virgil Sanders, Baby Anxiety | Virgil Sanders, Baby Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Baby Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Domestic Fluff, Human Sides (Sanders Sides), M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:35:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27262102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IvyCpher/pseuds/IvyCpher
Summary: Janus stays home from work and let's his husband sleep in while he takes care of their three toddlers, Virgil, Roman, and Remus.
Relationships: Deceit | Janus Sanders & Morality | Patton Sanders
Comments: 20
Kudos: 139





	A Change in Schedule

Janus had just finished putting his and Patton's young twins, Roman and Remus, down to bed for the night. He sighed tiredly as he shut their bedroom door behind him and leaned against it. Down the hall, he heard another door opening and looked up. Patton was just stepping out of their other son's, Virgil's, bedroom, having finished putting him to bed too.

Meeting Janus' eye, Patton flashed him a small smile and quietly walked down the hall in his socked feet to meet his husband. "Hey," He kissed Janus' cheek.

Smiling back, Janus kissed Patton before he pulled away. "Hey," His arm snaked around Patton's waist and pulled him closer. "Were they good today?"

They both began to descend the steps together, quietly as not to wake the boys.

Rolling his eyes gently, Patton shook his head. "I told you, they were fine." He insisted as they neared the bottom of the steps. "They're sweet little things, I can take care of them just fine."

"Dear, you're here five days a week taking care of three children all under three." Janus steered them into the living room and sat down on the couch. Patton immediately leaned into him, his head falling on his shoulder. "I don't have to go back to the office full time yet, if you need me here I  _ can  _ be here with you. I can work from home."

Patton looked up at Janus and pouted softly, "You don't think I can take care of them by myself?"

"I  _ know  _ you can take care of them, you're a wonderful stay-home father." Reaching out, Janus cupped Patton's cheek. "But don't think I don't notice how tired you are at the end of the day."

Janus had just recently gone back to work at his legal office full time since he and Patton had brought home the children for the first time. He hadn't been very keen on the idea himself. He didn't want to leave his husband with all the work of watching three babies all day, but Patton had insisted he could handle it.

Patton sighed and leaned into Janus' touch, "But your job is important." He said slowly.

"No,  _ you  _ and our  _ children _ are what's important. I just- I just don't want you to take on too much when I'm here to help too, alright?" Janus pulled his hand away and instead grabbed Patton's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "I don't doubt your parenting for a second, but I do know that you have a tendency to work yourself more than you can take."

Patton stayed silent, looking at their joint hands a moment before sighing. "Remus and Roman are a little handful each-" He admitted, slowly looking back up at Janus. "Maybe- maybe you could just work from home a little." He said slowly, "Two days a week, something like that."

Nodding, Janus leaned forward and pressed a quick kiss to the side of Patton's mouth. "Something like that." He smiled softly.

Patton returned his smile and kissed him back, "I mean… it would be nice to have you home again, even if it is just for a little while… I know the kids like it when you're here too. Virgil is pretty quiet- but when you come home he just- he lights up and smiles his sweet little smile."

"Well, he takes after you then."

Quickly covering his mouth, Patton snorted. "I love them all so much." He said finally, after taking a moment to compose himself. "I can't even remember what it's like not to have them."

"Neither do I," Agreed Janus happily. While having three babies had been a giant step in their relationship- it was something that both of them really wanted. Janus remembered fondly that as early as his and Patton's first date that Patton was saying that he wanted kids. "How about I go get us something to drink and call my boss about me changing my schedule?" He asked, kissing Patton once more.

Humming softly, Patton nodded. "Okay, and I'll find us something to watch on TV."

Janus left Patton in the living room for the kitchen where he dialed up his boss and requested her to let him change his schedule once more. Thankfully his boss understood the situation and just like Janus, didn't want him returning to work so soon when he and Patton had three little ones to look after. She told him to just work from home the next day and the day after that they could work out his new schedule.

With his things with work mostly settled, Janus then hung up the phone and grabbed a bottle of wine from the lower cabinets. He unhooked the special child lock on the cabinet and pulled it out from where it was hidden behind a few glass pitchers. Then he grabbed two glasses from a higher cabinet where they kept their glass drinkware and poured Patton and himself a sizable amount. After putting the wine away and relocking the child lock, Janus grabbed the glasses of wine and headed back towards the living room.

Patton was on the couch where Janus had left him, holding a pillow to his chest and looking especially tired. Janus knew before he even sat down next to his husband that Patton would probably be asleep in the next hour, which made him even more thankful that he was working from home the next day.

"Hey," Janus said gently, sitting down next to Patton and holding one of the glasses of wine out to him. "You find something to watch?"

Taking his glass, Patton nodded. "Yeah, the Princess Bride is starting in about ten minutes on the movie channel." Smiling softly, Patton moved to sit closer to Janus. He snuggled up next to him, laying his head on his shoulder with his eyes on the TV.

Rolling his eyes, Janus moved slightly to press a kiss to the top of Patton's head. "Don't you have that movie memorized by now?" He asked, putting his arm around him and taking a slow sip of his wine.

Patton laughed tiredly, "Maybe. But you know it's my favourite!"

Just like Janus predicted, Patton didn't last more than half way through the movie. Grabbing the remote, Janus switched off the TV and gently prodded his husband so he could make him go up to bed and sleep instead of staying on the couch. "Come on, love," He said quietly, kissing Patton's cheek. "Let's go to bed."

Patton's glasses were half off his face when he woke up, "What? Oh, did I fall asleep?" He asked, sitting up and looking at the turned off TV. "Sorry." He yawned, slowly standing up. "You coming to bed too?"

Nodding, Janus stood up, placing a quick hand on Patton's hip as he kissed his cheek again. "I'll be right behind you, I promise." He then leaned around Patton to pick up their empty glasses from the table. "Just have to put these away."

"Okay," Smiled Patton tiredly. He gave Janus a quick kiss before leaving the living room to go upstairs to their own bedroom.

Janus watched Patton go up the stairs before he left the living room for the kitchen. He quickly rinsed out their glasses and gave them a quick wash. Then he put them upside down on a green drying mat by the sink for them to dry. Carelessly wiping his wet hands on his shirt, he too went upstairs to bed.

A light was on in their room when Janus finally came upstairs. Patton was still awake, in bed and in his night things waiting for him. He smiled when Janus stepped into their room. "It will be nice, having you back again. Even if it is just for a little."

"Yeah?" Asked Janus, returning his smile. "Be careful, all this talk of missing me and I might start to think you actually married me for something other than my steady income."

Stifling a laugh with his hand, Patton shook his head. "You're such a joker."

As he began to undress, Janus ticked off on his fingers, "What else? A smoker? A midnight toker?" This provoked another laugh from Patton, which only made his smile grow. Tossing his shirt and pants into the little hamper by their closet, Janus ran his fingers through his hair. He moved to the dresser and grabbed a pair of grey sweat pants before pulling them on. Then he crawled into bed next to his husband.

"I do miss you though," Patton said quietly, snuggling close to Janus. He wrapped his arms around his shoulders and kissed the side of his head. "I miss you all the time."

Despite being married for some time, Patton's ability to make Janus blush never wavered. "I can tell as much from how you blow up my phone." He turned his head and gave Patton a proper kiss. One of Patton's hands moved from behind Janus' back to his cheek and Janus put his hand over his. "I miss you too." He said softly, pulling away from the kiss just enough to look at Patton properly. "And the boys, I love all the cute pictures and videos you send me of them. They make my day."

Grinning, Patton pecked Janus' lips once more. "Did you get the one I sent today of Roman in his new princess costume Remy got him? He looked just darling!"

Unable to help it, Janus grinned too. "Yes, he looked amazing. Too bad the others aren't into dress up either."

Taking his hands off Janus, Patton shrugged softly. "I don't think he minds much. Remus plays pretend with him a bunch- but you know them, it just involves a bunch of loud noises and running around." He moved down the bed and leaned on his side, looking up at his husband. "Virgil still can't stand their noise, but he'll finger paint in the same room they're playing in."

Janus nodded and layed down too, facing Patton. "Well just so long as Remus has stopped biting-"

"Oh, drat!" Patton sighed, "I  _ knew  _ there was something I forgot to do today. I was going to order him a chew from this site Emile recommended, but I forgot." He shook his head softly, "Remus put ketchup in Virgil's macaroni in cheese at lunch and that made him have a bit of a meltdown-"

"And I don't blame him. That is a disgusting combination." Mumbled Janus.

"It's not  _ too _ bad," Patton countered.

They talked about the boys for a bit more before finally going to bed. Patton taking off his glasses and putting them on the nightstand before turning off the lamp and Janus turning over on his side and letting his husband hold him.

Sleep came easily for Janus that night. He was relieved to be home again helping Patton and being with the boys, even if it was just for two days a week. From the moment he saw those kids he knew he would do anything in the world for them, and that hadn't changed one bit. He loved being a father as much as his husband did, but he knew that to give their sons the best life possible, that he could not put his work aside, at least not completely.

When he awoke in the morning, the first thing that Janus did was turn over and look at Patton. He was still asleep and his hair was a total mess, sticking up everywhere and looking more like a bird's nest than a head of hair. The sight made Janus smile and he leaned over to kiss Patton's cheek. Then he checked the clock and saw that it was nearly 8AM, the boys would be waking up soon themselves.

As quietly as he could not to wake his husband, Janus got up and left the bedroom. Before he could even think about going to the bathroom or doing anything for himself, he ducked into Virgil's room, which was the nearest to his and Patton's. "Good morning, my little stormcloud." He spoke softly as he entered the room. He didn't turn on the light, there was enough cast by the morning sun that worked it's way through the curtains and by the little outlet nightlight to see clearly about the room.

Virgil was already awake. He was standing up with one of his hands on the topmost bar of his crib, the other he was sucking on with his two middle fingers in his mouth. He began to bounce in his crib when Janus walked in and smiled widely with his fingers still in his mouth. He had on just a long sleeved purple shirt covered with white stars and a pull up diaper.

Janus smiled widely as he stepped across the room to the crib. "Guess what? Daddy doesn't have to work today." He said, holding out his arm to Virgil and letting him touch him first before he picked him up and pulled him out of the crib. "So I get to stay home and take care of you, your dad, and your brothers."

Virgil was their oldest son and was nearing 24 months old with his second birthday at the end of the month. Janus and Patton had struggled with finding a surrogate before they were put into contact with Virgil's egg donor. She was a wonderful woman who had been a surrogate two times before already and they clicked with her instantly.

But while Virgil was nearing two years old, he was still to say his first words. He obviously wasn't deaf for how he reacted to the racket his brothers made and when his fathers spoke to him, nor did he seem to be mute with how he cried and giggled and made much of the usual noises that babies his age did. He was just a very quiet baby for the most part. But that didn't bother Janus or Patton, they figured that Virgil would speak in his own time and they found other ways for him to communicate.

Janus took Virgil over to the little changing table by the window and changed him into a fresh pull up. "Are you hungry? Want some nummies?" He asked, picking up Virgil again and holding him against his hip.

Virgil nodded.

Nodding back, Janus started to leave the room. "Let's get Roman and Remus and I'll make you all a yummy breakfast." Virgil wrapped his arm around Janus' neck as he walked out of the room and out into the hall.

Before Janus could open Remus and Roman's bedroom door, Virgil stopped him. He patted his shoulder to get his attention and put a finger to his lips before putting the finger on Janus' lips too.

Smiling, Janus nodded. " _ Quiet."  _ He whispered, "Yeah, we have to be quiet in case they're asleep." He slowly turned the door handle as Virgil took his finger away from his mouth and stepped into the room.

Just like Virgil, the twins were already awake. They were standing up in their cribs and talking to each other in their baby, gibberish language. They seemed pretty immersed in their conversation, but when they heard the door open they spun around and were suddenly jabbering at Janus and Virgil.

"Dee! Dee!" Remus cried loudly, grinning and jumping up and down in his crib. "Morning"

Roman mimicked his brother, shouting "Dee!" And holding out his arms to be picked up. "Good mornings!"

Along the lines of teaching the twins how to speak and what they would call either of their parents, Roman and Remus had begun to call Janus simply 'dee' and not 'daddy' like they were trying to teach them. Janus didn't really mind, and the boys had learned how to be stubborn from him and wouldn't even attempt to say 'daddy' anymore. Patton just thought the whole situation was funny, but still, the boys called him 'dada' and not something silly like 'dee'.

Patton and Janus had adopted the twins when they were six month old. Virgil was just two months older than them.

When Roman and Remus started to be noisy, Virgil quickly covered his ears. Noticing this, Janus gently set him on the floor and held out his hands to the twins. "Good morning, it's a little too early to be so loud. Can you be quiet?" He asked, "Quiet because you're hurting your brother's ears and you might wake your dad."

It took a second but then Remus and Roman were no longer shouting but 'shh'ing each other and giggling. Slowly, Virgil lowered his hands from his ears.

Janus took Roman and Remus out of their cribs one by one and set them on the ground. Then he changed them into fresh diapers just like Virgil. "Are you boys hungry? Want some breakfast?"

At the words of food, Remus and Roman flung themselves at Janus' legs, demanding to be picked up.

"Cake!" Remus demanded as Janus leaned down to pick them both up. "Pancakes!"

"MmmDonnas!" Roman wrapped his arms around Janus' neck and smiled widely.

As Janus waited for Virgil to clamber into his arms as well, he sighed. "McDonald's? We're having breakfast at home." Carefully, he stood up with the three babies in his arms. Patton’s brother, Emile, and his boyfriend Remy and Remy's boyfriend, Logan, had gone and got the boys McDonald's breakfast the last time they watched the boys and it was all they ever wanted to eat anymore.

Both Roman and Remus pouted at the news that they weren't getting McDonald's as Janus carefully made his way down the stairs with them in his arms.

"We want Donna's pancake!" Remus whined, scratching at Janus' chest with his little nails to show his displeasure.

"Why don't I just make pancakes?" Suggested Janus.

But Roman and Remus did not look too keen on that answer. Even Virgil pouted softly, shaking his head.

God, Janus was weak for those boys. He couldn't tell them 'no' to anything, that was Patton's job. Aside from being able to deny them McDonald's for breakfast, Patton was also able to get them to understand that his 'no's were final. With Janus on the other hand- the boys knew that if they asked him enough that he would give in in usually less than five minutes. Janus knew that he shouldn't give in to them, that he should actually  _ work  _ on not giving them everything they asked for, but by God if his kids wanted MmmDonna's then he was going to get them MmmDonna's. As he reached the bottom of the stairs, he carefully set each of the boys down. "Do you all  _ really  _ want McDonald's?" He asked.

"Yes, MmmDonna's!" Remus and Roman both shouted. Virgil nodded quickly.

Looking down at all three of their little, eager faces, Janus sighed. "Okay, we can get McDonald's-" When the boys started to celebrate loudly: Roman and Remus both shouting 'MmmDonna's' and jumping up and down, and Virgil clapping his hands and giggling while he jumped with them; he quickly added, "But first you all need to brush your teeth. McDonald's won't serve little boys with bad breath."

The boys' happiness was too high to even be dampened by having to brush their teeth. They willingly marched behind Janus, like a bunch of little ducklings, to the bathroom to get ready, giggling the whole way. Janus got them their toothbrushes and set them up to brush their teeth while he did the same. For once Remus didn't even put up a fight to not brush his teeth.

Then from there, Janus got each of the boys their own sippy cup of watered down apple juice and sat them in front of the TV watching Blue's Clues to keep them occupied for a bit while he got ready.

Janus went upstairs to his and Patton's bedroom. Patton was still asleep so he noiselessly grabbed a sweatshirt from the closet and pulled it on. He went over to Patton's side of the bed and pressed a kiss to the top of his head, "Hey," He said quietly.

"Mm?" Replied Patton, half asleep.

"I'm taking the boys to McDonald's to get some breakfast. Do you want anything?"

It took a second for Patton to reply, he slowly opened his eyes and smiled tiredly up at Janus. "You're a pushover for those boys," He muttered, reaching out for Janus' hand.

With a roll of his eyes, Janus gave Patton his hand. "Are you making fun of me, now? You're so cruel."

"Of course not." Patton took Janus' hand and kissed it. "I just think it's cute." He sat up some, yawning. "Could you get me some Starbucks?"

Smilingly gently, Janus nodded. "Oh, definitely not." He leaned forward and kissed Patton's forehead, "What do you want?"

Patton was able to steal a proper kiss from his husband before he pulled away, "What about one of those caramel hot chocolates?"

"You want anything else?"

Shaking his head, Patton stood up and pecked Janus' cheek. "No thanks, hun. It's too early for McDonald's to have chicken nuggets so I'll just stick with the hot chocolate."

Laughing softly, Janus grabbed Patton's glasses off the nightstand and handed them to him. "You're worse than the boys." He shook his head, "We'll be back soon." He said, turning towards the door.

"Okay, take your time. I'm going to say 'bye' to the boys before you leave." Together they walked out of their bedroom and began down the stairs. "Will you need help loading them into the car?"

"They're motivated by the extreme power of McDonald's breakfast, I think I'll be just fine getting them into the car myself, thank you."

From there, Patton said goodbye to the boys. Their goodbye involved a bunch of kisses and hugs, as it always did, but it was a more swift goodbye than usual with the promise of McDonald's influencing the boys to be quick. Janus loaded the kids into the car, making sure they were safely buckled in their car seats before he got in the front.

"Now, do you all know what you want?" Asked Janus as he buckled his seatbelt and started the car.

Remus and Roman sounded off with a deafening cry of "pancakes!" that even made Janus wince at the noise as it echoed in the car. Once he got them to quiet down, he looked in the mirror at Virgil, who still had his hands over his ears in case his brothers became loud again. "Do you want pancakes too, Virgil?"

Virgil quickly nodded, a look of determination on his chubby baby face.

Knowing what the boys wanted, Janus pulled out of the driveway and started towards the nearest McDonald's drive-through. He wasn't as tired as he was when he first woke up, it felt good getting to sleep in and take care of the boys. But he knew he still had to hurry their breakfast trip along so that he could call his boss and work out his schedule.

There was a bit of a wait at McDonald's considering that it was a busy breakfast hour, but instead of being whiny about the wait, Virgil, Remus, and Roman only became more excited. They bounced around in their little car seats and Remus accidentally flung his sippy cup at the window. Thankfully the window was closed so it didn't go sailing out into the bushes, and it didn't spill all over the inside of the car either.

Since it was just before their turn to order, Janus hurriedly reached round the back of his seat and picked up Remus' orange sippy. He handed it back to him and quickly said, "It's alright, dear. You just got a little over excited." While the person who was manning that part of the drive-thru asked if he was ready to order.

Straightening himself in his seat, Janus sat up and ordered the boys' food. Along with pancakes he also got them some eggs and hashbrowns, because while he might be a pushover to their wants, he still knew that they couldn't just live off pancakes. Plus Patton would talk his ear off about how they needed to take more care in giving the boys healthier diets.

"Can we... eat  _ now _ ?" Roman asked the moment Janus was being handed two bulging bags liaded with their food.

Sighing, Janus took the bags, thanked the cashier, and placed them on the floor of the passenger seat. He gave a quick look at the boys in the rear view mirror before pulling out of the drive-through, "You have to wait until we get home to-"

"Eat! Dee!" Remus cut him off, swinging his sippy cup around so fast that Janus prayed he didn't accidentally let go of it and for it to go flying once more. "Dee, uncles let us eat- eat MmmDonna's in the car."

Janus couldn't help it, he laughed. "No, sir, I know for a  _ fact  _ that your uncles do not let you eat McDonald's in the car." He smiled, glancing back at Remus in the mirror, he was wearing a giant pout at his lie being seen through. "Good try, though. Maybe one day you'll be as good a liar as Daddy." This caused Remus to perk up some, grinning as he took a sip of his apple juice.

At least a crisis was averted there, when Remus and Roman got fired up about something they  _ really  _ got into it. There were only a couple more complaints for them to get home and eat sooner, but mostly they were good. By the time they arrived at the Starbucks drive-through, Janus had put on the radio and some pop station thoroughly distracted the boys.

Janus ordered Patton's hot chocolate and an iced coffee for himself while Roman and Remus sang along to the radio with so much confidence despite only knowing maybe three words to whatever song was playing. When the song was over however and there came a commercial break, the twins became rowdy again until Janus finally received his drinks.

It was time to return home and by god did the twins let him know. The car ride was not at all silent on the way home. Remus kept talking about how he was going to put gummy worms and marshmallows on his pancakes while Roman kept trying to sush him and say that strawberries on pancakes were better. Had Janus been watching their little debate, he could have seen Virgil looking back and forth between them like he was watching a tennis match. He nodded each time Roman mentioned strawberries and screwed up his face in disgust when Remus talked about gummy worms.

By the time Janus arrived back in the driveway and cut the ignition, Remus and Roman were excitedly asking Virgil what he would eat on his pancakes.

"Ketchup?" Remus asked, bouncing so quickly that he was rocking his car seat from side to side.

Virgil gagged and shook his head, "Gross!"

Janus was just getting out of the car when he heard Virgil speak. He had partly tuned out the boys' conversation, but hearing Virgil's voice immediately brought him back. He quickly shut his door and opened the backseat door. Neither Roman nor Remus seemed to think Virgil speaking was anything surprising, they were still asking questions about what he'd put on his pancakes.

As he bent down to undo the fastenings on Remus' car seat, Janus looked at Virgil. "Since when do you speak, stormcloud?" He asked, astonished. He took Remus out of his car seat and pulled him out of the car, careful to not hit his head on the roof of the car.

"He don't like to talk!" Piped up Roman from the other side of the car.

Remus nodded furiously as Janus put him on the ground. "He sometimes do dough."

The fact that Roman and Remus had heard Virgil speak before Patton or himself confused Janus, but it made sense. He reached farther into the car and undid Virgil's fastenings as well, "Why don't you like to speak?" He asked him as he pulled him out of his car seat.

Virgil just shook his head, he looked rather put out all the sudden and Janus had a feeling that it wasn't due to Remus' gross suggestion of ketchup on pancakes.

Virgil didn't want to be put down, however, and so Janus shut the car door and moved around to the other side with Remus at his heels to get Roman. As soon as he opened the door, Roman spoke.

"He don't want you and dada to make… to make him talk." Shaking his head softly, Roman pulled at his car seat fastenings. "Can we eat now?"

What had started as a simple morning was turning into anything but. Janus felt rightfully flustered and horrible that Virgil was afraid to speak in front of anyone but his brothers because he thought that his parents would force him to speak. "Uh- yes, you can eat in just a second." Muttered Janus, still feeling taken aback. He took Roman out of his car seat and placed him on the ground near Remus.

Before Janus could even shut the car door, Remus and Roman were racing to the front door of the house. He didn't stop them. Instead, he looked over at Virgil and for the first time in his life he felt like he didn't know what to say. He swallowed the lump in his throat and grabbed the food and drinks out of the front of car and followed the twins to the house.

Patton had opened the door for the twins and was happily talking to them when Janus got to the door as well. Patton opened his mouth to ask him something but caught one look at Janus' expression and stopped. He took Virgil from him as they both stepped inside.

"Did something happen?" Patton asked quietly.

Janus shook his head, "I'll tell you in a bit. First let's get the boys fed before they turn feral and attack me for their pancakes."

Nodding softly, Patton took Virgil into the dining room and Janus followed with the food in hand. Remus and Roman were already struggling to climb into their chairs with their booster seats. While Patton quickly placed Virgil in his own booster seat and helped the twins into theirs, Janus began taking out the boys' food.

With the boys safely in their seats, Janus and Patton then got to work cutting up their food with the flimsy plastic cutlery that came with it. Once that was done, they gave each of them their food, poured a little syrup on it, and let them dig in.

"Is it good?" Patton asked brightly, chancing a glance at Janus.

Though Remus, Virgil, and Roman's mouths were all full of pancakes, the answer was quite clearly a 'yes'.

Janus took Patton's hot chocolate and handed it to him, "Well that's good, we're gonna go in the kitchen for just a second. Okay?" He asked as he picked up his iced coffee.

Two 'otay's sounded back to him.

Placing his hand on Patton's back, Janus quickly steered Patton out of the dining room and into the kitchen. Before they were fully inside the room, however, Patton was already turning around to speak to him.

"Janus, what happened? You look like somethings wro-"

Janus cut him off. "Virgil can talk."

Blinking, Patton looked confused for a moment before smiling brightly. "Oh! Did he say his first words? Goodness I can't believe I missed it, what was it?"

Shaking his head, Janus took a drink of his coffee for something to do. He didn't even taste it. "That's the thing- he… Patton, he's been able to talk for some time." He took in a deep breath, the truth had hurt Janus, yes, but he was still processing it and so he knew he wasn't feeling as bad as he probably would be that evening because of it, but he knew how hurt Patton would be by learning the truth. He had to word it carefully but there was no careful way to word it. "He doesn't like to speak and he was worried that if he talked in front of us that we would force him to keep talking."

Instantly Patton's smile vanished. He looked at Janus for a long moment before stepping away from him and leaning on the kitchen counter for support. "I can't believe this-" He said quietly, putting his drink down. "He- oh, my poor baby!" He whispered, putting a hand over his mouth.

Quickly, Janus moved toward his husband once more and put his arms around him. "Apparently Roman and Remus knew he could talk… They've been keeping it a secret." He said slowly.

Shaking his head, Patton inhaled sharply. "Oh, Virgil- I just… Oh, I can't even!" He looked up at Janus, frowning. "We made him feel like he had to lie… I feel horrible. I can't believe he felt like he had to lie to us- that he thought we were going to force him to talk if he didn't want to!"

"I know-" Janus mumbled. He held Patton closer to him and placed a slow kiss to his forehead. "We need to talk to him."

Hesitating, Patton asked, "Do you think he'll be mad at us?"

Janus thought for a moment and then shook his head. "No. He seemed to feel bad about it once I asked him about it. He might feel better knowing that we'd never do that to him and that it's okay if he doesn't want to talk."

With a sigh Patton dropped his head on to Janus' chest. "I hope he forgives us." Then he slowly eased himself away from Janus and grabbed his drink. "Let's go talk to him."

Janus nodded and let Patton lead the way from the kitchen back into the dining room. Instead of the iced coffee in his hand he was already aching for the taste of something stronger, he took a long drink of the coffee anyways. They sat on opposite ends of the table and looked carefully at each other.

The boys had made a right mess of themselves, but they were at that age where if you gave them even a cup of plain water they could be counted on to make the biggest of messes. The messiest by far of them, however, had to be Remus. He had eggs in his hair and whatever eggs weren't in his hair were on the table and the floor. Roman kept taking pieces of his pancakes and putting them on his hashbrowns and when he tried to eat his pancake covered hashbrowns he spilled pancakes all down his front. Virgil ate his food slowly, but nonetheless still got dirty. His hands and face were coated in syrup due to how he surgically peeled his pancakes in half before eating them.

The toddlers didn't seem to notice the unsure looks their dads were casting at each other, they were too enamored in their long awaited pancake breakfast to care.

After a few moments of both Patton and Janus saying nothing, Patton spoke up. "Virge, baby?" He asked slowly.

Virgil looked up at Patton. He had just finished peeling one of his pancake pieces in half and put one of the halves into his mouth.

Glancing once again to his husband, Patton put his hands on the table as he continued. "Your daddy told me how you talked in the car today."

At this, both Remus and Roman looked up from their food, at each other, and then at their parents. "He don't like to!" They both said at once.

"We know," Janus said carefully. "And it's  _ okay _ that Virgil doesn't like to talk." He looked away from the twins to Virgil. "You don't have to talk if you don't want to."

Virgil's remaining pancake piece fell out of his hand and on to the table. He looked very unsure, but slowly he shook his head.

"We won't make you talk, baby." Patton said softly. "We won't make you do anything that you want to do." He looked up at Roman and Remus. "And we won't make you two do anything you don't want either."

Looking between Patton and Janus, Virgil nodded and a smile slipped onto his sticky face.

It felt as though the weight of the world had been taken off of Janus' shoulders. He got up from his seat, knelt down next to Virgil, and pressed a kiss to his syrup covered cheek. "I'm glad that's settled." And he kissed Virgil's cheek again, causing him to giggle.

"If Virgey don't have to talk, do we haft to- why do we gotta take a bath?" Asked Remus from the other side of the table.

"Yeah!" Seconded Roman, "We don't want one!"

Janus and Patton met each others' eyes before they both burst out laughing.

"Yes-" Patton managed while trying to contain his laughter. "You two very much need to take a bath."

Neither Roman or Remus looked satisfied with this answer. Breakfast forgotten, they began to protest any and all future baths.

Standing up, Janus put his hand over his chest. "You  _ don't  _ want a bath?" He asked, sounding surprised. "Well, I guess Virgil will be the only one getting a bubble bath then. Because he wants a bath." He looked at Virgil, "Don't you?"

Giggling again, Virgil covered his mouth and nodded.

It was while Remus and Roman quickly changed their minds about wanting a bath that Janus thought about just how much he loved his family. That no matter how stressing or sticky or stubborn they might be, he loved them and he wouldn't trade them for the world.

**Author's Note:**

> Oh my god I've been working on this for weeks! I'm so glad that it's finally done.


End file.
